Kaleck on the ICC Nuremberg and Lumumba

Sep 22

In this complete interview and opening preview, Goodman recalls the Nuremberg proceedings' October 1, 1946 conclusion and their legacy for international justice. The hosts replay Trump's UN demand that ICC member states resign, report U.S. sanctions and possible further sanctions, and describe German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's Monday ICC visit and historical-responsibility statement, contrasting Merz's earlier assurance about Netanyahu visiting Germany without arrest. Wolfgang Kaleck credits Nuremberg's universal accountability ambition, warns that attacking the ICC damages justice for victims beyond Palestine, and stresses civil society's role while criticizing Western double standards. Discussing the Lumumba family's case, he describes the 1961 kidnapping, torture, assassination and destruction of Lumumba's body with Belgian participation, interpreting it as suppression of elected leaders in the Global South. He recalls the family's criminal complaint and a Belgian prosecutor's 2025 indictment and war-crime characterization. He says the sole remaining accused has died and the legal team plans a civil reparations case against Belgium; he does not announce a filed civil suit or a completed criminal trial. His legal and political assessments remain attributed. Brief comparisons with other historical coups remain in the interview without separate inferred accounts.

In UN remarks replayed by Democracy Now, Trump rejects ICC jurisdiction over U.S. service members or others, calls it anti-American and demands immediate resignation by member states. The hosts place the court pressure in the context of warrants for Israeli leaders over alleged Gaza war crimes. These are Trump's accusations and demands, not an established invalidation of the court or actual member withdrawals.